PINK directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (known for the brilliance in Bengali cinema with ANURANAN AND ANTAHEEN) is an ideal film for women empowerment lead by the magnificent Mr. Bachchan’s completely mesmerizing and top notch performance that makes it a compulsory viewing.
Deriving its title from what is believed to be the colour for women – PINK is a befitting attack on the society’s old fashioned mindset regarding females.
Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and writer Ritesh Shah take some inspirational leafs from Raj Kumar Santoshi’s DAMINI and Hollywood’s THE ACCUSED staring Jodi Foster to churn this powerfully searing, hard -hitting and compelling court room drama that achingly probes the mentality of the society we live in. be it Delhi or Deharadhun.
Its Delhi ( why Delhi) cause it is sadly labeled as the ‘rape capital’, the director and writer right from the title to the settings go pitch perfect.
Opening with a scene where a group of three females Minal (Tapsee Pannu) Falak (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea Tariang (Andrea Tariang) rush to their rented apartment in Delhi. On the other hand an injured Rajveer (Angad Bedi) is rushed to the hospital by his two friends Dumpy (Raashul Tandon) and Vishwa (Tushar Pandey). The three girls had gone out for a rock concert where Rajveer and co befriends them offer dinner which the girls accept. They move to a resort in Surajkund and things take an ugly turn. Rajveer forces herself on Minal and she retaliates by banging a bottle on his head almost making him blind by one eye.
Rajveer turns out to be the son of a politician and he uses his power to defame the girls in order to get even by calling them prostitutes and files a case of murder, assault and extortion on them.
The girls who where under the opinion that the matter will be forgotten within a few days are shocked. They are chased, threatened and even sent to jail. An aged neighbor who appears mysterious in the beginning – Deepak Sehgall (Amitabh Bachchan) a patient suffering from bipolar disorder and an ex lawyer (something like Sunny in DAMINI) ,comes to the rescue for the damsels in distress.
What follows is an intensely well-drawn court room drama that slightly draws some influence from Jodie Fosters THE ACCUSED (judging the protagonist morality on her free willing attitude and care for a drink).
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury narration plays out with great intensity as Deepak grapples with the fact and questions the prevailing mindset where things like drinking, late nights are cool for boys but a shame plus a question of morality for girls if they do so. Like Shoojit Sircar’s previous productions – VICKY DONOR ( story about a sperm donor), PIKU (beautiful adage on parent and parenting), PINK pushes the envelope further in the subject matter and speaks on sex with equal consent between two concerning adults ( marital or pre marital) and the right of a women to say ‘no’ matter whether she is a housewife, working girl, a prostitute or just an adult who is unwilling to have sex.
Ritesh Shah’s writing is simple, clear and blended with intelligence. Smart lines like ‘ ghadi ki sui insaan ka character batati hai’, is just an example.
Apart from the hard hitting Hindi debut by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, PINK is a testimony of Mr. Bachchan’s impeccable capacity to bring the required winning force to the character with his charismatic personality and deep baritone. Winning, compelling and completely mesmerizing, Mr. Bachchan as Deepak Sehgall in that improvised baritone is a class apart.
A definite game changer for Taapsee Pannu, who is just brilliant as Minal – can be anytime our neighborhood girl who loves life and is aware of her choices. No wonder if Tapsee steals some award thunder with this marvelous performance.
Kirti Kulhari, as Falak is excellent. Her outburst in court and on Rajveer earlier is done with panache.
Andrea Tariang chips in with good support. Angad Bedi is very good and rightly subdued. Piyush Mishra proves why he is regarded as a talent powerhouse. Dhritiman Chatterjee as judge is a good choice. Raashul Tandon and Tushar Pandey also do their job well.
Musically nothing to sing about but the background by Shantanu Moitra leaves an impact. Cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay is as per the tone of the film. Editing by Bodhaditya Banerjee is fine.
On the flip side, the first half takes it time to set the court room drama. Falak’s ouster from her job sequence lacks conviction. It’s a theme based film, those looking for wholesome entertainment will be put off.
All said and done, PINK is an essential piece of cinema. Having Mr. Bachchan in an act which nobody can afford to miss, the topical courtroom drama questioning the mindset of the society on women and the prevailing double standards demands compulsory viewing. Do yourself a favour, watch PINK.
Director : Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Music : Anupam Roy, Shantanu Moitra and Faiza Mujahid
Lyrics : Anupam Roy, Tanveer Ghazi and Faiza Mujahid
Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Piyush Mishra, Angad Bedi,Vijay Verma, Raashul Tandon and Tushar Pandey
(source: glamsham)